On the recordMarch 19, 2010
Now, back to the point I was making is that insurance companies discriminate against individuals. We all, if we think about it, know the examples here. I am going to give one. Twenty-three-year-old girl had been insured by the same insurance company for 23 years, from her conception, birth, all the way through teenage years, all the way to 23. She becomes 23. She is no longer on her parents' insurance. She goes back to the very same company and says, I'd like to carry on insurance. No. Not available to you. Why? Well, you had acne when you were 16. The fact of the matter is she also happens to be a woman and in those child-bearing years. So the company says, well, you know, you might get pregnant, might get married; might get pregnant and not be married. In any case, you're going to cost us a lot of money, and, therefore, no insurance. That kind of discrimination is over when the President signs this bill, be it discrimination against people who have a preexisting condition--and who doesn't? Who didn't have acne when they were a kid? Who didn't have asthma? Who didn't have a broken arm? Who in our society does not have a preexisting condition? Very few of us. Under the current situation, the insurance companies are able to pick and choose. Only the healthy or likely to be healthy do they want. Those who might be expensive they push aside. The message to the insurance industry is this: The President signs this bill, your discrimination is over.
